How Capital One Shopping Uses Crowdsourcing To Find Working Coupon Codes

Whether you’re new to Capital One Shopping or you’ve been part of the community for years, you may not know how powerful that little “w” in your browser truly is. After all, it takes a little more than clipping coupons to fuel discounts on 10,000+ sites. So, what’s the secret sauce? For Capital One Shopping, it’s crowdsourcing.

If you use Waze to beat 5 o’clock traffic or Kickstarter to shop for new gadgets, you’re probably familiar with crowdsourcing. Basically, crowdsourcing is using information from a group of people to solve problems. Capital One Shopping crowdsources so that it can supply a huge network of coupon codes — and to ensure that those codes actually work.

Capital One Shopping works with its network of retailers to find great deals. But what about those offers that are sent to your inbox? Or those elusive promo codes for “members only?”

Well, when a Capital One Shopper enters a coupon code at checkout, that code is shared with other shoppers in real time. So when you click “try codes” at checkout, you know you’re getting access to almost every coupon code possible.

Crowdsourcing not only helps Capital One Shopping maximize its coupon list, but it also tells Capital One Shopping which codes will save customers more money. When a coupon code works, it’s ranked higher in the catalog of codes to try. But when a discount is expired or doesn’t work, it’s ranked lower in the catalog and eventually retired.

The best part about crowdsourcing is that it allows Capital One Shopping to constantly learn and improve its experience. With more than 1.5 million Capital One Shoppers working together, there’s no question that you’re getting a great price.